How does the recent FATCA guidance affect asset managers?

April 2014

At a glance

On February 20, 2014, the US Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued extensive temporary regulations that (1) amend the existing final Treasury regulations implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and (2) provide guidance to harmonize the FATCA rules with the existing US information reporting and withholding rules. Since February 20, the Treasury and IRS have also released the final W-8BEN-E (for foreign entities), guidance on certain intergovernmental agreement (IGA) jurisdictions, and the deferral of certain key registration dates.

Asset managers who have already begun their FATCA implementation activities should find these changes provide some welcomed relief and clarification. For many managers, however, who were waiting on the additional guidance to move forward, these represent the final significant pieces of guidance to be issued. If a manager has not started to prepare for FATCA already, now is the time to begin preparation to ‘go live’ with FATCA by July 1, 2014. Time is short until July 1, so managers should review their FATCA implementation plans and make sure that they will be ready by July 1.